This weekend will see our friends in the Rally America series head to New England for the New England Forest Rally. Last Ditch Racing whom will be competeing in the Open Class has provided us a drivers blog exclusive to Open Paddock that will fully document an event in America’s premier rally championship. You will be able to visit openpaddock.net all weekend long for exclusive updates on how the team is performing and just exactly what it takes to be a rally driver. Last Ditch Racing is based out of…
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Rally – America Finally Gets WRC Back
In news that has brought tears to my eyes and joy to thousands, the U.S. will finally get the WRC back on the television and it is going to be in HD. It has been a few years since Sebastian Loeb and Marcus Gronholm graced the speed channel and now the WRC’s promoting body the ISC will bring the series back to millions in the U.S. Discovery Channel has picked up the tab for the series and will show coverage on the HD Theatre channel which is one of the…
Read MoreRally – Gronholm to Compete in Rallysprint
Marcus Gronholm will be behind the wheel in Finland after his run at the Pikes Peak event. Gronholm has confirmed he will compete in Finland, but not for the WRC event. Instead, Gronholm will be running a rallysprint knockout competition that takes place at the end of day two of the Rally Finland. It will be in a super special stage setting in which two cars will go head to head and eventually knockout until there is only one remaining. Gronholm will be running a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX for…
Read MoreRally – Solberg to Drive a C4?
With Rally Finland still some time off, former WRC champion has been offered a chance to pilot a Citroen C4 that is set up with 2008 specifications. This car would be nearly identical to those used by the Citroen Junior’s team but issues have come to light. At this moment, the ride would be rented for Finland and the price is a little stiff for the Norweigian to pay. While he has recieved sponsorship from Shell, it is really only enough to keep him around for this year and next…
Read MoreRally – Ken Block Does Top Gear
Rally – Poland Conclusion
Yesterday was the final day of Rally Poland and it was the shortest day of competition. A day of mixed emotions for the BP Abu Dhabi team and a salvage job for the Citroen of Sebastian Loeb. As the day began the Fords had a comfortable lead and looked poised for a second straight 1/2 finish. Danni Sordo promised more pressure from his C4 on the final day. After being back 38 seconds it was going to be tough for the Spaniard to make up that kind of time. If…
Read MoreRally – More Trouble for Loeb
Rally – Poland Day 1 & 2
Rally Poland has ended its first day of competition and there were a couple surprises to talk about. This event may see the first change in the drivers’ championship as well as helps a certain team make a real ball game out of the manufacturer’s title as well. With Petter Solberg having the early lead after the spectator stage, it was on to the loose dirt/gravel surfaces in the super stages. Mikko Hirvonen continued to roll through the stages all morning and was granted a sigh of relief after Sebastian…
Read MoreRally – WRC Regulations for 2011
As the World Motorsport Council met to discuss the future of the Formula 1 World Championship, a number of items were on the table regarding the WRC and its future regulations. In March of this year the teams had agreed to a 2 liter naturally aspirated engine. That has switched however to 1600cc turbo charged power plants that the teams claim will be more environmentally friendly. With the new engines, we will also see Super 2000 regulations put in place for the transmission and electronics. With these new regulations, the…
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